A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all AMSAT members around the
world, whatever your personal religious beliefs may this season bring to you and
your family both joy and happiness and may your "rigs" never fail and always
be exactly on frequency!

As we enter into 2004 let us consider ourselves lucky that we are members of
one of the most technical amateur groups in this world and that through our
own technical and financial efforts there are a number of satellites waiting
to be launched in this coming year.

The two satellites that I know are almost ready are our own Echo and VUsat
from India.

I am pleased to report that from the regular communications I have had over
the last two weeks, Echo is passing final integration and testing with flying
colors. Many thanks to the teams who have provided components and also to
Jim White and Mike Kingery who have recently spent much time integrating and
checking testing etc.

I am looking forward to the end of March when we expect the Echo launch to
take place, that is only just over three months from now, and we still have
to raise $70,737 for the launch campaign. Remember that if you want to be
able to put your donation against taxes (in the USA) your donation must reach
Martha, at the AMSAT Office before the first of January. Don't leave it too late as Martha has some vacation time
due! I hope that we can reach the 50% or $55K mark by December 25 and $60K by January 1.

VUsat which had some problems in testing, has resolved the nature of the
problems (a filter) and corrections are being made. I understand that a launch is possible in the late summer or
fall of 2004. Details of the payloads of both Echo and VUsat may be found on the AMSAT-NA web page,
(www.amsat.org) and more details of VU sat on the
AMSAT-India web page. An exciting year is ahead.

Looking back over the past 12 months, I would like to thank our benefactors,
yes, all of you who have put time, effort or financial help into AMSAT. Whatever your role, I can tell you that it is very much appreciated. I will
not single out more people as the list would be very long, but in an organization such as AMSAT membership is really only the first step,
participation in any form is the next, and I might add, very satisfying.
October 2004 will see the completion of my term as President, by then
Echo should be in Orbit and you should be working it very easily, but let me add
just one word of warning, to re-phrase Yogi Berra " it ain't up and working
till it's up and working". Generally our launches and commissioning has been
excellent, but we, like many other organizations in the space business, have
had our problems and I hope learnt by them.

To finish this letter where I began, congratulations to the AMSAT membership,
you are on the leading edge of technology in many areas. Consider that only
100 years after Wilbur and Orville, there have been 50 OSCARs in orbit, many
successful shuttle flights with ham radio on board plus the RS satellites,
Mir (ham radio and SSTV) and now the ISS with ARISS (phase one and two).
The irony of it is, that we still call ourselves "AMATEURS" can you imagine
any other amateur group making this sort of achievement? Aren't you proud
to belong? I am !

"We have separation! That was the message from the European Space Operations
Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, to announce that the British-built Beagle 2 spacecraft is now flying independently from its Mars Express
"mother ship". Initial confirmation that the separation manoeuvre has been
successful came at 10.42 GMT, when Mars Express mission control at ESOC received telemetry data to indicate that electrical disconnection had taken
place between Beagle 2 and the orbiter. This was followed at 11.12 GMT by
confirmation that the two spacecraft had mechanically separated."

Just a reminder that the website http://www.iaru.org/satellite
carries up-to-date information about the procedures presently in place and summary
reports on all recent International Forums.

Also there is now a current record of all known projects (nineteen in total)
which have been in touch with the IARU Satellite Advisor ZS6AKV in regard to
frequency co-ordination at http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/

This morning (12/16/03, Ed.), one hundred years after the first powered
flight by the Wright Brothers, the Smithsonian Institution opened the Annex
to the Air and Space Museum!

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opened with a extraordinary exhibit of
original civilian and military aircraft from around the world, missiles,
experimental aircraft, early spacecraft and support equipment, engines, and, even a display of engine spark plugs. Whether you're looking for the
X-35, a Boeing 707, a record-setting SR-71A, the first Air France Concorde,
the original Enterprise, or gliders and ultralights, this is the place to
come and see!

Put it on your list when you come for the AMSAT Annual Meeting and Symposium here in Crystal City, Virginia, just outside Washington,
DC. It's absolutely breathtaking! How do I know? I saw it for myself
today!

PCsat is doing fine and will continue in good Sun through New Years Eve.
Seeing about 50 users per day and 30 per pass over the USA. Any packet station can copy her, just tune 145.825 and watch (1200 baud normal AX.25
packet).

To transmit though her, just set your unproto to UNPROTO APRS VIA WIDE, go
to CONVERSE and type something to somone else you see. This is the same path
as APRS users use terrestrially. (RELAY, PCSAT-1 and W3ADO-1 also
work.)

Sapphire (45) is 10 minutes behind PCsat in the same orbit. Her uplink is
145.945 and very weak downlink is on 437.095 +/- Doppler. Her digi callsign
is VIA KE6QMD. ISS is not doing packet these days, but we can hope.

During travels, set your mobile to 145.825. When you hear one PCSAT pass,
the next one is exactly 100 minutes later and the NEXT day the same pass
is 30 minutes earlier. (And Sapphire is 10 minutes behind it but takes a UHF
beam to hear it on 437.095, though it is easy to hit on 145.945.)